Casino scams and blackmail bids – Emmerdale's Debbie is only following in dad Cain's footsteps, says Charley Webb... So Debbie reckons she can blackmail Jamie Hope with a photo. What’s the photo of? "It's of Jamie running from Home Farm on THAT night! Debbie finds the camera lying around and nicks it. At first she doesn’t realise it can be of use to her but then Jasmine tells her she’s lost her camera and desperately needs it back. Debbie goes through the pictures, finds the one of Jamie and starts seeing pound signs. She thinks she’ll be able to get money out of him." Does she want to hurt Jamie? "Not really. She doesn’t think Jamie killed Tom King either. Jamie’s just a pawn. It’s Jasmine she really wants to hurt. Debbie still wants revenge on Jasmine for sleeping with her dad, Cain." But Jamie ends up going to the police about the photo. "He does and the blackmailing scam kind of fizzles out as a result. Debbie’s disappointed as she thought she’d make herself a nice little sum." She likes a scam, doesn’t she? "Absolutely. She’s certainly her parents’ daughter! Charity and Cain were into scams and Debbie’s the same. She’ll definitely keep an eye out for the next one that comes along." In the meantime, there’s her taxi cab venture! "Yes. And the money for that came from a scam, too, namely the blackmailing stunt she pulled at the casino with Eli. She’s only got one car at present but hopes to expand." But she’s employing Shadrach as a driver! "I know. It’s bound to end badly..." So why does she give him a job? "She’s dead against it to begin with but the family try to talk her into it. They want Shadrach to get off his backside and do something useful for once. It’s Chas, Shadrach’s daughter, who eventually persuades her." What will Debbie do when it all goes pear-shaped? "There’s always her job at the garage, I suppose – and the prospect of further scams of course!" She’s turning into Cain! "Yeah, well, maybe it’s in her genes. Debbie hated her dad at times but she kind of admired him, too. She’s nicer than Cain, though. In this respect she’s more like Charity than Cain. Charity did care about people. Debbie does, too, in her own way." She doesn’t seem to care about her daughter, Sarah! "She does care about her but she can’t deal with being a mum. Debbie does think about Sarah but spends most of her time trying not to." Debbie’s been through so much in her short life: what would you like to see happening to her next? "I like the way she’s heading at the moment - following in her parents’ footsteps and being a bit of a bad girl. Debbie’s a Dingle and proud of who she is. She lives on her wits and when she sees an opportunity she grabs it."
